The fishing here at Nelson has been going along sweetly and should continue that way right through January.

Mulloway have mainly come from the middle reaches of the river, with fish caught from the Reed Beds up to Red Gum Landing.

Once again, baitfishing has been the most productive method. Spew worm has been the best bait and fishing early morning and at night are the pick of the times.

We still have the same problem in the river of small bream pinching baits, so a hard session of pumping worms is best protected by fishing at these times. I’ve also heard of some angler soaking their precious spew worms in kerosene to prolong their keeping time, and catching fish. Heywood Angling Club recently held a competition here and the best bait was the kero-soaked worms!

The trolling putt-putt gang, which seems quite exclusive to the Glenelg River, has been getting among the fish, although not as many as they would like. I’m sure it will fire up and some good mulloway will be taken.

Bream catches have picked up and nice fish have been caught throughout the river. Crab has been the best bait during the day, while spew worm has been favoured at night.

If you come down to fish the Glenelg River, drop into the Nelson Hotel and we will do our best to advise you where to go.

I recently read an article about another fishing competition and it really amazes me at just how far upstream these bream go and how fresh the water is they’re in. Those fishing that comp fished an area that would have to be 80km upstream and they caught bream on scrubworms and live gents in the same area they caught redfin and trout!

I weighed in a lovely estuary perch the other day for Malcolm Campbell. The fish weighed 2.5kg, or 5.5lb in the old scale. I’ve been threatened not to give away his spots, but around 10km and further upstream will put you in the area.

An unweighted, fresh river shrimp piffed into a snag in the early morning or late evening, along with cunningness and patience, should see you have some fun. These are serious fish that a lot of people don’t target and they are abundant in the Glenelg.

Estuary perch are a fish of target, and you will unlikely fluke one. They are great fun and catching them consistently is an art form.

We are seeing more and more flyfishers on the river, but I’m a fan of baits. Shrimps, crickets and live gents work well on a light line, no sinker. Another tip when fishing for perch is to never throw one back in the river in the same spot you caught it. It will go straight back into the snag, tell its mates, and no more fish for you. Keep the fish alive in livewell and release them when you’re done.

For the latest fishing information, contact the Nelson Hotel, (08) 8738 4011.